This Father's Day is extra special for the Nevins

This story was excerpted from Rhett Bollinger's Angels Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

The odds of having a son in the Major Leagues is incredibly rare, and it’s even more rare for an active MLB manager to have a son playing in the Majors.

But it’s the case for Angels interim manager Phil Nevin, whose son, Tyler, made his debut with the Orioles last year and is currently serving as Baltimore’s everyday third baseman, the same position his dad played in the Majors from 1995-96. So that’s why this year’s Father’s Day is so special for the elder Nevin, who nearly got choked up when asked what Father’s Day means to him.

Nevin, 51, hasn’t had a chance to see his son play in person in the Major Leagues, as Tyler didn’t play in any games against the Yankees last season when Nevin was serving as New York’s third-base coach. But he’s slated to get that chance soon, with the Angels heading to Baltimore for a four-game series from July 7-10.

“If we were playing Baltimore on Father’s Day, it would’ve been a difficult one for me, but it’ll be difficult in a few weeks when we see him,” Nevin said. “My dad [Norm] is more proud of this than anything when I was playing. This is something he’s always wanted to see. It’ll be a special day for him and for me, too. And then I get to see Tyler a few weeks later.”

The last time an active manager had a son in the Major Leagues was in 2017, when John Farrell was managing the Red Sox and his son, Luke, pitched for the Royals and Reds. They even made history with Luke pitching against the Red Sox to mark the first time a player pitched against a team managed by his father.

Buddy Bell also incredibly had two sons in the Majors at different points of his managerial career. When Bell managed the Rockies in 2000, his late son, Mike, played with the Reds and then his other son, David, played from 1995-2006, while Bell managed the Royals from 2005-07. Other recent examples include Hal and Brian McRae in the early 1990s, Felipe and Moises Alou in the 90s and Chuck and Bruce Tanner in the mid-80s. The last time a position player played against a team managed by his father was when Moises Alou's Cubs played Felipe Alou's Giants in 2004 but that should change in a few weeks when the Angels head to Baltimore.

Nevin said he tries to watch his son play on television as much as possible and said day games work the best because he can watch them early on the West Coast before heading to the ballpark. He said it’s more difficult when the Angels and Orioles are playing at the same time. His other son, Kyle, was a standout first baseman at Baylor University but announced last week he’s transferring to the University of Oklahoma.

“My dad watches our games but he’d rather go see his grandkids play, whether it’s Kyle in college or Ty in the Major Leagues right now,” Nevin said. “But my dad manages the game along with me. I get texts after the game, so I know I have to deal with him.”

Tyler spoke to MLB.com’s Zachary Silver, who wrote a great article about how much it meant to Tyler to see his dad hired as the interim manager to replace Joe Maddon. It’s worth a read, in full, but Tyler joked about what it’ll be like to play in a game against his dad as manager.

“I talk to him about my at-bats a lot and tell him what I feel like is giving me fits. And now it's like, 'Well, guess he's gonna use that against me,’” Tyler said. “It's part of it. … But it's just funny, having those conversations, and then now he's going to pick the pitchers that face me.”